NOTE FOR LCNZ PASTORS, PARISH/CONGREGATIONAL SECRETARIES

Please cut and paste as much of this update into your regular weekly bulletins, newsletters, and parish magazines, and regularly invite people to subscribe to regular LCNZ UPDATES / Bishop’s Page by going to www.enews.lca.org.au

WORDS WITH FRIENDS

I have to admit to currently being reasonably hooked on a game that I play on my iPhone. It’s a game’s called Words with Friends, and it’s really ‘on-line’ scrabble that can be played with anyone, anywhere, and at any time with someone who also has a smartphone or an iPhone or a tablet. Leanne and I play against each other … even when I’m far away from home. If you can get ‘QIS’, yes even without a ‘U’ with a triple word score, you’ve done well!

At the face of it the name of the game suggests that one has conversation with friends. Well, you don’t; it’s scrabble and it’s about winning, and there’s very little conversation apart from saying things like, “blow, you’ve won again!”

I really like the phrase Words with Friends though.

Last Saturday (21st September) was the commemoration of St Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, and the gospel reading for the day tells us about Jesus having words with friends –

• And as Jesus sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples.

As you know, the Pharisees – the ones who really considered themselves worthy of the title friends of God, got a bit upset and wanted to know why Jesus would be eating with such unfriendly-to-God people … tax collectors and sinners … disreputable characters, crooks and riff-raff.

Remember Jesus’ answer? It goes like this –

• But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” (Matthew 9:9-13)

God was where he was supposed to be; where he intended to be, where he wanted to be, where his heart was … with sinners, and tax collectors, with crooks and riff-raff … having conversation with the likes of us, poor miserable sinners.

Here is God having words with friends. And not just any word(s) either, but a word of love and life, a word of forgiveness and acceptance; a word of restoration and ‘be well.’

• Thank you Lord God for being friendly with us folk who need your friendship, because without it we would die. Thank you for bending down from heaven; for coming down from heaven in the person of your Son so that you could have words with your friends … with us. Thank you that there was no greater love than the love you showed for us by laying down your life for us … your friends. Amen.

WORDS WITH FRIENDS – THE ACTS 15:36 TOUR

Some facts –

• 19 days of tour, with a bit of a break in the middle.
• Close to 2500 kilometres of driving in the car.
• A few thousand kilometres of air travel between the two of us.
• 12 locations, 12 conversations, approximately 36 hours of talking.
• Over 180 participants in these conversations from around the LCNZ (more than a third of all regularly worshipping Lutherans on an average Sunday).
• 9500 words of notes taken.
• The same jokes used by Shannon each time; fresh laughter from Mark each time.
• Many, many words of reflection and debrief between Shannon and Mark as they drove between places.
• A moment of prayer on the Auckland motorway where Mark (driver) did what his Mum taught him as a boy, and closed his eyes to pray.
• An emerging sense of the health of the LCNZ and its congregations.
• An emerging sense of how seriously we need to address the health of the church.

The Acts 15:36 tour was a wonderful opportunity for me as your Bishop and pastor, together with Shannon as facilitator, to come and have words with friends … to come and see how you were doing.

Thank you for your incredibly warm and friendly welcomes; the meals, the hospitality, the conversations, the wonderful consideration of and wrestling with the issues of God’s ministry in and through you, at your place.

Last Saturday the Council of Synod (COS) and the Lutheran Support Ministries (LSM) group met in Wellington to hear Shannon and I debrief on the tour and to hear my vision for the future of the Lord’s church in New Zealand in light of the conversations with his friends and mine over the last 3 weeks.

More debriefing and conversation needs to take place at a national leadership level in order for us to fully get our heads, our hearts and minds around what it is that we believe God is calling us as a church to do.

1. One thing I will say is this – and this was also what came out of the LCNZ Summit in 2010 which gave foundation to this tour: We are a church that has been in decline – numerically, and maybe also in understanding our place and God’s call to mission – for some decades now.
2. The stats (the data), your own health analysis (Alex to Finn), and the comments you made during our words with friends time, confirm that our general health as a church is not good.
3. More of the same is not an option, if we want to see the church live and grow and become a means by which more are invited to be friends of God.
4. Things have to change.

And friends, this is the challenge and the opportunity we have … to submit to the Lord of the Church and to hear his heart for us … and to be prepared to be bold and courageous and trusting in Him, so that if changes in the way we’ve done things for years need to be made, we’ll make them for the sake of the gospel.

We need to work with what we’ve found out from the tour; please pray for your leadership and work with us as we desire to become what he desires us to be –

• He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing (Ephesians 2:10, The Message).

• We pray Holy Spirit: open our hearts to discern and to hear the will of God; his plans and his purposes for us. Almighty and gracious God, you want all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Increase the power of the gospel in the hearts of the faithful members of the LCNZ, that your Church may spread the good news of your salvation. As we proclaim the saving cross of Christ, may he draw all people to himself, in whose name we pray. Amen.

WORDS WITH FRIENDS – ANGLICANS AND LUTHERANS IN THE HAWKES BAY

During the Acts 15:36 Tour visit to our sisters and brothers at Redeemer Lutheran in Hawkes Bay, we discussed the possibility of meeting with and having words with our Anglican friends with a view to exploring how we might share worship, ministry and life more closely together.

As you know, the Anglican Church in Aotearoa-New Zealand and the Lutheran Church of New Zealand have reached an agreement called Common Ground, which enables both denominations to explore the possibilities of working more closely together, especially in locations where one or the other group is quite small.

On Tuesday evening I returned to the Hawkes Bay to attend a meal and meeting – some words with friends – as we Lutherans were the guests of the members of St Francis in Clive. As we met we shared our respective histories, our dreams as to what a closer relationship might look like, our fears and concerns, but most importantly we shared a desire to explore what life more closely together might look like.

We are doing this carefully. While we are exploring the possibilities of working more closely together with friends from other traditions, it is also our desire to retain something of our Lutheran identity, by still being able to meet regularly together as Redeemer Lutheran for Home Group ministry and worship. In a spirit of real Christian love, such as is found between friends, the members of St Francis indicated that they would be only too happy for us to do this.

We’re in the early stages of conversation and planning, so I ask you to keep this in your prayers. Pray especially for two important events coming up –

• 6th October We have invited members of St Francis to attend a Lutheran worship service
• 3rd November The members of St Francis have invited us to lead a Lutheran liturgy / worship service in place of their regular worship on that day.

• Father God, how good it is when our lives point to you and when brothers and sisters live together in unity. It is like an oil of blessing pouring down; spilling out and running over. Father, Spirit, Son, Three-in-One, pour out a blessing on your church in the Hawkes Bay as we explore the possibilities of sharing more closely in worship, life and ministry together. Draw us together, under the banner of Christ; unite us in purpose, and fill us with love. Amen.

A WORD FROM A FRIEND – PASTOR TAT ANNOUNCES HIS RESIGNATION FROM BOTANY

Last Sunday (22nd) the announcement of Pastor Tat Ming Tsui’s resignation as Pastor at Botany Lutheran Church was made.

Tat’s final service will be on Sunday 29th December.

Pastor Brian Shek, Asian Ministry Coordinator for the LCA, came over from Brisbane to assist with the announcement and to read a pastoral letter from me to the congregation in Mandarin and Cantonese. Part of my letter read as follows –

• I am sure that for many of you this announcement brings great sadness and a sense of wondering what God has in store for your future ministry here at Botany, so let me first offer you a Word of Godly promise as written in Jeremiah the prophet – For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope (Jeremiah 29:11).
• Be assured, that even though a season of ministry at Botany is about to conclude, the Lord will provide all that is needful so that you may continue to be a blessing to many.
• The journey to this announcement has been one that Pastor Tat has shared closely with me as his Bishop. From the time before Tat’s ordination, we have maintained a close Bishop-Pastor relationship, where we have shared the joys and challenges, and the disappointments and the blessings of ministry. There have been wonderful occasions where we have talked together, prayed together and shared in worship together; all the time aware of the Lord’s almighty provision and grace.
• Throughout Tat’s ministry, he and I have cultivated a good and collegial relationship whereby we have been able to regularly reflect on aspects of the Lord’s ministry at Botany Lutheran Church. At the same, I have also had a very warm and positive relationship with the leadership and the members of the congregation. Through many hours of conversation and meeting over recent months, and through prayer, Tat believes that God had led him to a decision to resign from ministry at Botany Lutheran Church.
• In the same way that I have offered my love and care for Tat and for you through your leadership, I commit to continuing to love and care for you as we work together to discern God’s future for this congregation.
• I invite you to pray for Tat and Irene as they have made this important decision, that the Lord will bless the decision they have made and lead them to further opportunities for ministry and service in his name. And please give thanks also for the blessing that Tat and Irene have been among you over the last 2+ years.

After this letter was read, Pastor Shek led in a rite of prayer and blessing for Pastor Tat and Irene. Please pray with us –

• Gracious God, you have called us in our baptism to be your servants. You have enabled us to respond to your call as a community of believers. Thank you for the partnership in the gospel that has been enjoyed with Pastor Tat and his wife Irene. As we receive news of Tat’s resignation, strengthen them both for the mission you still have placed before them, and when the time comes, may they go from here knowing our love and our continuing partnership. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

ANOTHER FRIEND ARRIVES – HAERE MAI PASTOR RODGER RUSS

The Manawatu Parish (St Lukes Palmerston North and Trinity Feilding) are getting excited. It’s only a matter of days / weeks until Pastor Rodger Russ arrives to be their new pastoral friend.

You may also wish to share in their excitement and joy by being present at Pastor Rodger’s installation service on Sunday 27th October, 10.30am at St Lukes Lutheran Church, Church Street, Palmerston North.

• Lord Jesus, we pray that you would watch over Rodger and provide travelling mercies as he prepares to leave friends and family and a familiar place to come us here in New Zealand to begin ministry amongst your people in the Manawatu. Amen.

A FRIEND GOES HOME TO BE WITH JESUS – DEATH OF PASTOR DON BARON

News of the death of Pastor Don Baron only filtered through to me about a week after he’d died. I have informed LCNZ congregations of Don’s death, but have waited until this update to include the following information.

Former LCNZ President, Steen Olsen writes –

• We had been aware that he had been on the final stages of earthly pilgrimage for a while. Don and Ia-Mei responded to the Lord’s call in retirement and faithfully served Tauranga and surrounds for a number of years. Such was their commitment that they even bought their own house. They will be remembered and loved by our congregation there. I am also grateful for his friendship and thoughtfulness. It was also a please to visit and stay with them.

Don’s son, Chris writes –

• Warm Aloha - love & friendship - to our dear Family & Friends,
• Donald Baron, Ia-Mei's husband of 46 years, serenely took Jesus' hand and never let go as he was drawn homeward to Heaven just after 9 pm Honolulu time, Wednesday 9/11, 2013. Don had been born May 6, 1931. His transfer Home with the Lord was painless, peace-filled and fulfilled – with God's Word of steadfast assurance in his soul, and Christ's loving, peace-giving Spirit indwelling his.
• Don transited from his temporary 'earthly tent' (see Bible quote, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 1 to 8, also written out toward end of this email, along with other Scripture quotes he asked to be conveyed on this occasion) painlessly, while asleep here at home, where he had received hospice care with us since returning from major intestinal bypass surgery and hospitalization in late May (end-stage [4] colon and abdominal cancer was discovered in April). In Don's own words he wrote aforehand to pass to you, he "went Home to be with Jesus my Lord to await the resurrection of the body at His return."
• Don invested quite a lot of thought and heart, during the seasons beforehand, into leaving written instructions about what he requested be conveyed to all family & friends. He wanted a service celebrating God's goodness and gift of Life and Heaven through Christ.
• Memorial Service: Saturday, September 28, 10am at Chinese Lutheran Church of Honolulu.

Don himself wrote –

• Dear friend,
• Each one of us has a Day - it's the Day that Jesus Christ, my God and Savior, calls me across the bridge of time to eternity with Him. My Day has already come, and I am with Him. There is now a joy utterly beyond my imagination, to be with my Savior and await with Him the resurrection of the body, which He purchased at such high price for me. I am a justified ("just-as-if-I'd never sinned") person, declared innocent by Jesus and dressed in His own robe of righteousness.
• My 'Life-Verse' from the Bible is: 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 15, 17-21
• And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be a sin offering on behalf of us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
• Please give God thanks with me, and pray that my life work may continue on deeply fruitful for eternal life in the lives of people I got to know (and those they get to know) on earth.
• With love, your friend, and brother through Christ, Don Baron.

I’ll never forget Don introducing me to the phrase – the church exists for its non-members. Don was a passionate pastor; deeply committed to God’s friendship with sinners … a child of God who always had a word of love for the friends of God.

WORDS WITH FRIENDS – GIVEN AND SHED FOR YOU

This Sunday, our 8-year daughter Charlotte, together with a number of other young people at St Pauls Wellington, will receive Christ’s body and blood in the Lord’s Supper for the first time … and they will hear the words of love and friendship, given and shed for you.

As you hold your hand out … your heart even, this Sunday and each time you have opportunity to receive the body and blood of Christ in bread and wine, and to hear God’s words with his friends – given and shed for you, be assured of God’s deep love for you.

• These words, “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,” show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation (Small Catechism, Martin Luther).

WORDS WITH FRIENDS – A REUNION OF THE LUTHERAN WOMEN OF NEW ZEALAND

One last chance to see if there is sufficient interest in holding a Reunion of Lutheran Women of New Zealand.

We have envisioned a one day event held in Palmerston North with the invitation for participants to stay over and worship the next morning.

If interest is sufficient, we plan to hold this reunion early 2014, possibly March/April.

Please can you express your interest by replying to Vicki at manawatulutheran@inspire.net.nz or at PO Box 47, Palmerston North Central, Palmerston North 4440 before 30th September 2013.

LEAVE

I will be taking two weeks leave from Sunday 29th September to Sunday 13th October. During my leave you can contact the Assistant Bishop, John Davison (07 8395768) or the LCNZ Administrator, Robert Hagen (04 3852540).

On my return on Sunday 13th, I immediately head to Adelaide for a College of Bishops meeting, graduate interviews, and a meeting of the Mission Directors.